15 July 2017

India has revived its five-decade-old intelligence and combat unit in order to keep a tab on Chinese maneuvers in countries like Nepal and Bhutan. The separate unit will be part of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), which guards the borders with the two countries.New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's Ministry of Home Affairs has decided to deploy the full-fledged intelligence unit along the border of Nepal and Bhutan to keep tabs on infrastructure development and other activities by China in these countries. More than 1,000 specially trained troops will be part of the SSB unit which will play a dual role for the government. Apart from intelligence gathering, these troops will also be trained in combat.

In December last year, Sputnik had reported that the Indian government is considering to revive the 50-year-old SSB intelligence wing, following increased Chinese activities in New Delhi’s extended neighborhood. The action was initiated after SSB had raised concerns before the government about China's project development and other activities across the border.

"The border [with Nepal] is very sensitive and the influence of elements of various types in these areas has mushroomed… we have proposed to have our full-fledged intelligence wing in the force," Archana Ramasundaram, Director General, Sashastra Seema Bal, said back then.

The decision to raise combat intelligence services is based on the 54-year-old Special Service Bureau which worked on the principle of "recruit locally, train locally and deploy locally." The new service will have a larger objective than its predecessor and it is most likely that the forces belonging to this service would be deployed in the neighboring countries in question.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.